The Zoe
by xcountrygurlx
Summary: My twist on How I Met Your Mother's The Robin. Zoe finds Wade's steps of how to win her back, for good.
1. Step 1

Zoe's P.O.V.

My hands shook as I swiped the piece of paper off the floor of the Gazebo. My eyes darted to the flowers that were set up inside, and the lights that were gleaming from the bushes. There were tears in my eyes, but they fell on the paper that was now shaking in my hands.

_THE ZOE_

_Step #1: Admit to yourself that you still have feelings for this girl._

My mind raced back to four months ago, when I was breaking up with Joel.

"Zoe you just have to do it! You don't love him!" Wade chuckled as he said it. I rolled my eyes.

"It's not that easy Wade! He's a nice guy, I don't want to crush him."

"I hate to say it Big Z, but Wade's right. You need to dump Joel. You're just stringing him along at this point. He deserves better and so do you." Lavon threw in his two cents while eating his cereal.

"I'll do it alright! I just need to do it the right way." I said, frustrated. They had been pestering me about breaking up with Joel ever since I admitted that I was getting annoyed with him.

"Do it today, you need to do it as soon as possible." Wade instructed, pulling my phone out of my purse.

_Joel, meet me at Butterstick at noon? Need to talk. _

He typed, but I didn't stop him. I was dreading breaking his heart, but I wasn't happy. I missed being single and I needed to focus on my life right now.

"Gee thanks, now I have until noon to figure out how to tell him that he should pack up and go back to New York." I rolled my eyes again and picked my purse up from the counter and left. I made my way to the practice and busied myself with work until it was 11:45. I sighed before making my way to the Butterstick. I grabbed a table and waited for him to arrive. Things with Joel and I hadn't been very serious, but he was my first boyfriend since Wade. He was more of a placeholder to keep myself from going back to Wade. But I had eventually fallen out of love with Wade, and Joel was no longer needed. He walked through the door and saw me immediately.

"Hey babe." He kissed me quickly before taking the seat across from me.

"Hey." I trailed off.

"So what was so important?" He asked, picking up a menu.

"Oh, that, um. Well we have plenty of time to talk about that later. I just, well, how was your day?"

"Pretty boring I guess. I tried to write, but I gotta tell you, I can't write well down here."

"Oh, well maybe it just takes some time to get used to?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"So what's on your mind?" He asked me when Wade burst threw the door.

"Wade, what're you doing?" I asked him as he stormed over to our table.

"I love you Zoe." He deadpanned as he leaned cross the table. I stood up to reprimand him.

"Look, he doesn't love me, he's just trying-" I tried to explain to Joel before Wade interrupted me.

"I love everything about her. And I am not a guy who says that lightly. I am a guy who has faked love his entire life. I thought love was just something idiots thought they felt, but this woman has a hold on my heart that I couldn't break if I wanted to. And there have been times that I've wanted to. But I could not stop loving her anymore than I could stop breathing. It has been overwhelming, but humbling and painful at times, I am hopelessly, irretrievably in love with her. More than she knows." He shouted and everyone in the restaurant heard him. Joel was a bit taken aback by his expression since he and Wade were friends.

"Wow, um, Zoe, what is he talking about?"

"It's not her fault, she didn't know. I just had to let you both know before you went any farther in your relationship. I needed her to know that."

"Zoe, I hate to say it, but it seems like Wade really loves you. And I want you to be with a guy that can make you happy and that loves you that much, and I don't think that guy is me." Relief washed over me when he said that.

"I understand." I said slowly as he kissed me softly and then left the Butterstick. I reluctantly grabbed my purse and made my way to the Rammer Jammer. I spotted Wade immediately.

"What the hell was that?" I hissed through my teeth.

"Relax Doc, you weren't going to put the poor guy out of his misery, so I just sped up the process." He poured me a glass of wine and I took a seat on a barstool.

"I guess you're right."

"You know, a thank you would be nice."

"Thank you Wade Kinsella for professing your fake love to me to convince my boyfriend to move back to New York. I really owe you one." I gave him a sarcastic smile before downing my wine and heading home for the day. I chuckled slightly, shaking my head as I walked home. It was good to have the old Wade back again.


	2. Step 2

I smiled at the first memory, but my mind was quickly jumping to the second step.

_Step #2: Choose the completely wrong moment to make a drunken move…And get shot down on purpose._

"Wade are you working tonight?" I asked him at breakfast one morning.

"Only until six, why?" He looked up from his toast.

"Because I want to get drunk tonight, and I figure that it's a little pathetic to get drunk alone. And it's free when I drink with the owner. What do you say?"

"Why not? I need to get god and drunk, it's been a while."

"You two are certifiably insane." Lavon shook his head, not looking up from his newspaper.

"I'll meet you at the Rammer Jammer at six." I said before leaving the kitchen.

I treated two cases of poison ivy, a broken arm, a wart removal, and a common cold all before I went to the Rammer Jammer.

"Hey bartender, pour me a drink. God knows I need one." I joked as I sat at the bar. He glanced up at me and smiled before pouring me a glass of wine.

"Oh no, I'm getting hammered tonight, get me some good stuff." I said, also accepting the wine.

"Well my dear, pick your poison."

"Give me tequila. Let's do shots!" I got excited, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist my charm. He smiled and got two shot glasses. He joined me on the opposite side of the bar. We started with one shot, which turned into two, which turned into 12.

"Waaaaaaaade! Come dance!" I said, practically falling off my seat. I stumbled onto the open floor. There weren't many people left in the bar, but the ones that were left were watching us.

"Lady you know I don't dance." He slurred from his seat at the bar, pointing at me.

"But we're drunk and that's an excuse for everything!" I said as I started to dance. He reluctantly joined me on the dance floor. Looking back on it, we made fools of ourselves that night.

"Alright, let's get you home girl." He said, throwing me over his shoulder when I was noticeably near passing out.

"I don't want to go home! I want to stay out all night!" I shouted.

"It's 2 in the morning! The Rammer Jammer's closing, but I promise, if you want to do this again sometime, we'll go to New Orleans sometime and really stay out all night." He told me as he put my shoes on.

"I'll hold you to that Cowboy." I winked and he helped me stand up. We decided it would be more responsible to walk home, so we went, leaning on each other the whole way home.

"AND I WOULD WALK A THOUSAND MILES, IF I COULD JUST SEE YOU….TONIGHT!" I sang at the top of my lungs and he cracked up.

"You're going to wake people up! And I'm gonna be the one who gets in trouble!" Wade shushed me, but I was laughing too hard to pay attention to what he was saying. My foot hit a root and I stumbled; my arms flailing for support. He grabbed one of my arms and I steadied myself. We were approaching my place and he helped me up the porch steps.

"Thanks for drinking with me tonight. And helping me temporarily forget how much of a shitshow my life is."

"Anytime Doc, you know I don't need an excuse to go drinking with a pretty girl." He winked before turning away.

"Hey Wade?" I asked, fiddling for my keys.

"Yeah?" He turned back around.

"I really mean it, thanks." He lingered for a few seconds, before moving in. At first, I leaned in too, but then I pulled back quickly.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean."

"No problem Doc, just forget it." He squeezed my hand and then smiled before turning back to his house. I watched as he went on his deck and into his house, turning off his lights, leaving me alone in the dark.


End file.
